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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

T hatcher has been gone for three days. I remember when he left before, and while it sucked, it sucks super bad now because I know what it is like to touch and kiss him. Plus, watching Arwen struggle is extremely difficult.

Only ten days left.

The IceCats won their game last night. It wasn’t the first time that Arwen and I had watched a game on TV, but it was Arwen’s first time with our family. My parents make a big to-do when it’s a game day. We wear our away jerseys, we have a feast, and no one leaves the family room until the game is over. So many pictures and videos were taken of Arwen cheering for Thatcher and the whole team. It was absolutely adorable, and of course, my man got all kinds of choked up.

I can’t wait till we go to his home game in a couple weeks.

The IceCats traveled through the night and had morning skate, and I’m excited Thatcher is able to be on the phone with me while I take Arwen back to Dr. Welsomire’s for her follow-up and to get her new ear gear. I’m driving the new Ford Explorer he insisted on getting me for when he’s not around.

I need a tank to protect my girls since you can’t drive for shit.

In my defense, I get where I’m going, but no curb is safe, and God help stop signs. I never see those things… Maybe I am a bad driver.

Oh well.

I’m a great mother, and by the grin on my man’s face, a good whatever the hell I am to him. “Do I call you my boyfriend?”

He scrunches up his face. His reaction has me laughing as he bellows, “Absolutely not!”

I snort. “My baby daddy?”

“Audrina,” he warns, and I grin. “I am…yours.”

“I know, moy ,” I say seductively, and he bites his knuckle as his eyes heat. “But I can’t go, hey, this guy is mine.”

He looks perplexed by that. “Why not?”

“Thatcher!”

“I’m serious. I see nothing wrong with that sentence.” I roll my eyes, so happy I could cry. “Hey, so I looked at the floor plans. I don’t know if I want a house that mirrors our parents’.”

I scoff, rolling my eyes at him once more. Our parents are pushing for a third Gone with the Wind -inspired home with all these bedrooms we don’t need. Well… “I mean, you’re the one who wants to keep me filled with babies.”

His grin is devilish. “Have you seen our little girl? She’s a stunner. I’d be stupid not to procreate with you.”

I look in the mirror to see Arwen reading a picture book in the back seat, and love grows in my chest. “True, but they need rooms.”

“Not thirty and a library—that’s ridiculous,” he scolds, shaking his head. “I want a cool eight-bedroom house, two stories. Nothing insane.”

I give him a dry look. “’Cause eight bedrooms isn’t insane.”

He chuckles. “To you, maybe. You lived in a single room with a microwave.”

I grin proudly. “And I did it well.” I know he doesn’t agree. If he did, I wouldn’t be here. Or maybe I would.

Yeah, I would.

“How is Ruby?”

I beam, loving that he’s asked about her. “She’s good. I chatted with her yesterday. She’s excited things have worked out for us.”

“Me too,” he says, sending me a grin. “So, can we agree to eight rooms?”

“I don’t care as long as you are in my room.”

He waggles his brows, his lids hooding a bit. “That’ll be the best room in the house.”

We share a heated grin before I pull into the doctor’s clinic. I give Arwen the phone so she can sign with Thatcher while I carry her inside. Once I get us checked in, we’re called back. We’re waiting for the doctor when Thatcher says, “I made that picture of you two in my jersey my phone background.”

I lean my head on Arwen’s, looking deep into Thatcher’s brown eyes. God, I miss him. “It was a cute picture.” Then I remember something, laughing loudly. “Did you really tell the ref to kick rocks and eat ass?”

He gives me a stern look. “Did you see that call? He said I tripped number whatever. How did I trip him when he had my fucking stick in his hands? He tripped over his own stick, fucking assfuck.”

I snort loudly, thankful Arwen doesn’t have her ear gear in. “Jeez, Thatty. Tell me how you really feel.”

His nostrils flare. “I hate bullshit calls.”

“I am well aware, but you can’t tell a ref to eat your ass. He basically ate you up with penalties.” He grumbles, but he knows I’m right. He got two more calls, and boy was he fuming when he called me late last night. I love how passionate he gets when he’s on the ice, but not so much off the ice. Not that I’m worried that’ll happen again. I now know how much he loves and cherishes me. “What happened to growth?”

“I am fully grown off the ice. On the ice, I’m a raging teenager who hasn’t gotten my dick wet.”

I choke on my spit, coughing and laughing as he grins at me. “You’re a fool.”

“For you, yeah, I am.”

God, I love him like this. Saying whatever comes to mind, telling me exactly what he is feeling. I am obsessed with the way it makes me feel, and as badly as I wish we’d had this before, I am so thankful for it now.

We share a grin as the door opens, and Dr. Welsomire enters with an excited grin. She greets Arwen, then me, and even Thatcher. Arwen holds the phone throughout her examination, and the whole time, Thatcher signs encouragement and praise. He is so in tune with her, so loving, and it still brings tears to my eyes. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop feeling emotional seeing them together. It’s more than I ever imagined.

Arwen is a little warrior through the entire appointment. I rub her back and praise her too, but she only has eyes for her daddy. She’s slept in my bed since he’s been gone, not that I mind. I wish Thatcher were there too. When Dr. Welsomire puts Arwen’s bright-purple ear gear in its place and turns it on, the smile that comes over my baby’s face leaves me gasping for breath. Tears spill down my cheeks when her eyes widen, and she looks up into Dr. Welsomire’s face. She signs quickly, I can hear my daddy’s TV.

I let out a sob, and I swear I hear Thatcher do the same. His voice is broken as he says, “Hey, malyshonuk . Daddy loves you.”

Arwen’s eyes light up as she tells him she loves him too.

“Hey, my love,” I tell her, and she looks up at me with such wonder.

Your voice is so clear, she signs and then reaches up to wipe away one of my tears, and once more, a sob breaks from me. Why are you crying?

“Because I’m so happy,” I tell her as I sign in case she doesn’t truly understand the words.

Me too, she signs, grinning at her daddy. I’m so pretty!

You are, he signs back, and when she looks at me, I nod. My eyes track back to Thatcher’s to find him watching me. His eyes are wet, and the biggest, most beautiful grin sits on his face.

I ran from this man. But from now on, I’ll only run to him.